Robot control system and method, computing device, and storage medium

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are a robot control system and method. The robot control system includes a storage region, a lifting machine, a control device, and at least one self-driven robot. The storage region includes a loft having at least two storeys and is configured to store a container, and there is provided a passage on the floor of each of the at least two storeys of the loft for the self-driven robot to move through. The lifting machine is configured to transport the self-driven robot or the container to a target storey corresponding to a transportation task. The control device is configured to assign the transportation task to the self-driven robot and plan a travel route on the target storey for the self-driven robot according to the transportation task, and dispatch the self-driven robot to travel according to the travel route to perform the transportation task.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a United States national stage application ofco-pending International Patent Application Number PCT/CN2019/105382,filed on Sep. 11, 2019, which claims to the priority of Chinese patentapplication No. 201811062251.7 filed on Sep. 12, 2018 and Chinese patentapplication No. 201910258694.1 filed on Apr. 1, 2019, disclosures ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to the field of warehousing, forexample, to a robot control system and method, a computing device, and astorage medium.

BACKGROUND

In goods-to-man broken case picking automated scheme in warehousing, themulti-layer picking scheme used in a three-dimensional space in therelated art is mainly implemented by a three-dimensional shuttlevehicle. The three-dimensional shuttle vehicle scheme however has highrequirements on shelf precision, and also has relatively highrequirements on the ground subsidence index and flatness index. If theground subsidence index and flatness index do not meet up the standards,the shuttle vehicle would get stuck on a track, leading to aparticularly high construction cost. Furthermore, the maintenance forfixing a system failure is complicated, and it is also very dangerousfor a person to enter a three-dimensional shelf track. Therefore, manualoperation is not possible should a system failure occur.

A container-to-man automated picking scheme based on a robot is amulti-layer picking scheme that addresses the utilization of thethree-dimensional space. It usually adopts an ordinary loft-type shelf.A robot moves on the floors of the loft, and there is no need to providespecial shelf tracks. A box-pickup mechanism of the robot can be liftedand lowered to pick up containers on shelf layers at different heightson a same floor of the loft. The robot can pick up one or more boxes ata time, and transport them to an operating station. After a sortingoperation is completed at the operating station, the robot then returnsthe box to the shelf. The storey where the operating station is locatedis an operation floor, and other storeys are storage floors.

When a container located at a storage floor needs to be transported tothe operation floor for operation, or a container in one operation floorneeds to be transported to another operation floor for operation, then across-layer transportation of the container would be required.Currently, a common multi-layer picking scheme adopts thethree-dimensional shuttle vehicle, which uses the following containercross-layer transportation scheme, namely a lifting machine works incooperation with a conveyance line to transport the container to theoperating station for operation. However, the three-dimensional shuttlevehicle has a relatively high difficulty of transportation, and isdifficult to be flexibly allocated, resulting in a relatively high costof the automatic picking scheme.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present application provide a robot control methodand system, a computing device and a storage medium to overcome thedeficiencies in the related art.

An embodiment of the present application provides a robot control systemincluding a storage region, a lifting machine, a control device and atleast one self-driven robot. The control device is communicativelyconnected to the lifting machine and the at least one self-driven robot.The storage region includes a loft having at least two storeys and isconfigured to store a container, and there is provided a passage on thefloor of each of the at least two storeys of the loft for the at leastone self-driven robot to move through. The lifting machine is configuredto transport the at least one self-driven robot or the container to atarget storey corresponding to a transportation task. The control deviceis configured to assign the transportation task to the at least oneself-driven robot and plan a travel route on the target storey for theself-driven robot according to the transportation task, and dispatch theat least one self-driven robot to travel according to the travel routeto perform the transportation task. The self-driven robot is configuredto arrive at a location of a target container on the target storeycorresponding to the transportation task according to the travel routecorresponding to the transportation task, pick up the target container,and transport the target container to a destination of thetransportation task according to the travel route. The container is awork bin stored on a container carrier located in the storage region.

An embodiment of the present application provides a robot control methodincluding: assigning a transportation task to at least one self-drivenrobot; planning a travel route on a target storey corresponding to thetransportation task for the at least one self-driven robot, controllingthe at least one self-driven robot to move to a location of a targetcontainer corresponding to the transportation task according to thetravel route, and picking up the target container; controlling the atleast one self-driven robot carrying the target container to move to aposition where a lifting machine is located; controlling the liftingmachine to transport the at least one self-driven robot to a targetstorey where a destination of the transportation task is located; andcontrolling the at least one self-driven robot to transport the targetcontainer to the destination of the transportation task.

An embodiment of the present application provides a robot control methodincluding: receiving a transportation task assigned by a control device;moving to a location of a target container corresponding to thetransportation task on a target storey corresponding to thetransportation task according to a travel route planned by the controldevice, and picking up the target container; and transporting the targetcontainer to a destination of the transportation task according to thetravel route.

An embodiment of the present application provides a computing device,including a memory, a processor and computer instructions stored in thememory and executable by the processor. The computer instructions whenexecuted by the processor cause any one of the robot control methods tobe performed.

An embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readablestorage medium storing computer-executable instructions, which whenexecuted cause any one of the robot control methods to be performed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a robot control system according to anembodiment of the present application.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication framework ofa robot control device according to an embodiment of the presentapplication.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a self-driven robot in a robot controlsystem according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a lifting machine in a robot controlsystem according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a storey of a storage region in another robotcontrol system according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a robot control method according to anembodiment of the present application.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a robot control method according to anembodiment of the present application.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a robot control system according toanother embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a storey of a storage region in a robot controlsystem according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a robot control method according to anembodiment of the present application.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a robot control method according to anotherembodiment of the present application.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a robot control method according to yetanother embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a robot control system according toanother embodiment of the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Details are set forth below to facilitate a thorough understanding ofthe present application. However, the present application can beimplemented in many forms different than the embodiments describedherein, and those skilled in the art will be able to make similarexpansions without departing from the spirit of the present application,so the present application is not limited by the specific embodimentsdescribed below.

FIG. 1 shows a robot control system according to an embodiment of thepresent application. The robot control system includes storage region, alifting machine 104, a control device 105, an operating station 106 andat least one self-driven robot 103.

The storage region includes a loft having at least two storeys and isconfigured to store a container 101, and a passage 102 for the at leastone self-driven robot to move through is provided on the floor of eachof the at least two storeys of the loft.

The container 101 may be a work bin or a packing box on a containercarrier, a tray on the container carrier, or other containers that canbe used for holding articles.

The container carrier may be a shelf.

The self-driven robot 103 can travel on each storey of the loft throughthe passage 102 which is configured for the self-driven robot 103 tomove through.

The lifting machine 104 is configured to transport the self-driven robot103 or the container 101 to a target storey corresponding to atransportation task.

The control device 105 is configured to assign the transportation taskto the self-driven robot 103 and plan a travel route on the targetstorey for the self-driven robot 103 according to the transportationtask, and dispatch the self-driven robot 103 to travel according to thetravel route and perform the transportation task.

The self-driven robot 103 is configured to arrive at a location of atarget container on the target storey corresponding to thetransportation task according to the travel route corresponding to thetransportation task to pick up the target container, and transport thetarget container to a destination of the transportation task accordingto the travel route.

The control device 105 is communicatively connected to the liftingmachine 104 and the self-driven robot 103.

The storage region is provided with the operating station 106 on atleast one floor of the loft, and the operating station 106 is used forperforming a task operation on the container 101. The task operation maybe operations such as a pickup operation, a stocktaking operation, agood pickup operation and a tallying operation.

In the robot control system provided by the embodiment of the presentapplication, the passage for the self-driven robot to move through isprovided on the floor of each storey of the loft and the lifting machineis combined, such that the self-driven robot can run on each storey. Inthis way, flexibility of the self-driven robot is improved, variousoperations can be completed according to actual requirements, and thereis no need to install shuttle tracks, thereby greatly reducing aconstruction cost.

FIG. 2 shows schematic diagram of a communication framework of a robotcontrol device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Components of a control device 105 include, but are not limited to, amemory 210 and a processor 220. The processor 220 is connected to thememory 210 through a bus 230, and a database 250 is configured to storea transportation task.

The control device 105 further includes an access device 240 thatenables the control device 105 to communicate through one or morenetworks 260. Examples of the networks include a public switchedtelephone network (PSTN), a local area network (LAN), a wide areanetwork (WAN), a personal area network (PAN), or a combination ofcommunication networks such as the Internet. The access device 240 mayinclude one or more of any type of network interfaces (such as, anetwork interface card (NIC)) of wired or wireless, such as an IEEE802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) wireless interface, aworldwide interoperability for microwave access (Wi-MAX) interface, anethernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a cellularnetwork interface, a bluetooth interface and a near field communication(NFC) interface.

In one embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned of thecontrol device 105 and other components not shown in FIG. 2 may also beconnected to each other, for example, by the bus.

The control device 105 may be any type of stationary or mobile computingdevice including a mobile computer or mobile computing device (such as,a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant, a laptop computer, anotebook computer and a netbook), a mobile phone (such as a smartphone), a wearable computing device (such as a smart watch and smartglasses) or other types of mobile devices, or a stationary computingdevice such as a desktop computer or a personal computer (PC). Thecontrol device 105 may further be a mobile or stationary server.

The control device 105 is communicatively connected to a self-drivenrobot 103 and a lifting machine through the network 260, and controlsthe robot control system by transmitting control instructions orreceiving a message returned by the self-driven robot or the liftingmachine.

In one embodiment of the present application, a transportation task maycarry a code identifier of a target container; and at least oneself-driven robot moves to a location of a target container on a targetstorey according to a travel route, and can pick up the target containerby recognizing the code identifier of the target container.

It is to be noted that the embodiment of the present application doesnot limit a structure of the self-driven robot, and a function of takingout the container from the shelf and putting the container into theshelf can be achieved by any one of the structures in the related art.For example, a mechanical arm may be arranged on the self-driven robot,and the mechanical arm is used to pick up the container from the shelfand put the container into the shelf; a clamping structure may also bearranged on the self-driven robot, and the container is taken out fromthe shelf and put into the shelf by being clamped; or the container maybe taken out from the shelf and put into the shelf using otherstructures.

Referring to FIG. 3, in one embodiment of the present application, atleast one self-driven robot 103 includes a pickup telescopic mechanism301, a lifting mechanism 302, and a robot moving chassis 303.

The pickup telescopic mechanism 301 is configured to obtain one or moretarget containers.

The lifting mechanism 302 is configured to adjust the pickup telescopicmechanism 301 to move upwards or downwards such that the pickuptelescopic mechanism obtains target containers on shelves of differentheights of a target storey.

The robot moving chassis 303 is configured to control the at least oneself-driven robot to move through on a travel passage of the targetstorey according to a travel route planned by a control device.

The target container is a container 101 which needs to be transported ina transportation task.

The self-driven robot provided by the embodiment of the presentapplication runs on a travel passage on the floor of each storey of theloft, such that flexibility for transporting the container is greatlyimproved, various operations can be completed according to actualrequirements, and there is no need to install shuttle tracks, therebygreatly reducing a construction cost.

Referring to FIG. 4, in one embodiment of the present application, alifting machine 104 is provided with a temporary storage position 104Aconfigured to temporarily store a self-driven robot 103 or a targetcontainer.

The target container is a container 101 which needs to be transported ina transportation task.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a storey according to an embodiment of thepresent application. The storey includes a storage unit 501 of a shelf,an operating station 106 and a travel passage 102.

The storage unit 501 of the shelf is used for storing a container.

Operations such as a pickup operation, a stocktaking operation, areplenishment operation or a tallying operation may be performed onitems in a transported container on a plurality of operating stations106.

The travel passage 102 is used for a self-driven robot to move through.

In the embodiment of the present description, a storage region includesa loft having at least two storeys. In a case where the container needsto be transported between different storeys, the container may betransported by using a lifting machine.

The embodiment of the present application provides two modes of liftinga robot and lifting a container.

The two modes are illustrated respectively below.

In one embodiment of the present application, a transportation taskconsists of a first transportation task and a second transportationtask. In the first transportation task, a target container needs to betransported to a temporary storage position of the lifting machine. Inthe second transportation task, a self-driven robot carrying the targetcontainer needs to be transported to an operating station or a containercarrier of a target storey. This scheme is a lifting a robot mode. Acontrol device controls a first self-driven robot to arrive at alocation of a target container on a target storey corresponding to thefirst transportation task according to a first travel routecorresponding to the first transportation task to pick up the targetcontainer and transport the target container to the temporary storageposition of the lifting machine, and then a ready status signal istransmitted to the control device.

The container carrier may be the storage unit of the shelf.

A destination of the second transportation task includes an operatingstation or a storage unit of a shelf of a target storey of the secondtransportation task. The control device receives the ready statussignal, and controls the lifting machine to transport the firstself-driven robot to the target storey of the second transportationtask; and controls the first self-driven robot to move through on thetarget storey of the second transportation task according to a secondtravel route corresponding to the second transportation task, andtransport the target container to the operating station or the storageunit of the shelf of the target storey of the second transportationtask.

In the lifting the robot mode, the self-driven robot can arrive atdifferent storeys by the lifting machine, such that each self-drivenrobot can obtain a container of any storey and transport the containerto an operating station of any storey, and after an operation on thecontainer is completed at the operating station, the self-driven robotcan return the container to a storage unit of a shelf of any storey.

It is to be noted that in the lifting the robot mode, whether theself-driven robot being lifted carries the container may be determinedaccording to an actual situation, which is not limited in the presentapplication.

In another embodiment of the present application, a transportation taskconsists of a first transportation task and a second transportationtask. In the first transportation task, a target container needs to betransported to a temporary storage position of the lifting machine. Inthe second transportation task, the target container needs to betransported to an operating station or a storage unit of a shelf of atarget storey. This scheme is a lifting the container mode. A secondself-driven robot arrives at a location of the target container on atarget storey corresponding to the first transportation task accordingto the first travel route corresponding to the first transportation taskto pick up the target container and transports the target container tothe temporary storage position of the lifting machine, and then a readystatus signal is transmitted to the control device.

A destination of the second transportation task is an operating stationor a storage unit of a shelf of a target storey of the secondtransportation task. The control device receives the ready statussignal, and controls the lifting machine to lift the target container tothe target storey; and controls a third self-driven robot located at thetarget storey to move through on the target storey according to a secondtravel route corresponding to a second transportation task, andtransport the target container to the operating station or the storageunit of the shelf of the target storey of the second transportationtask. The second self-driven robot is different from the thirdself-driven robot.

In the lifting the container mode, the container can be transported toan operating station or a storage unit of a shelf of any storey througha cooperation between the self-driven robots located at differentstoreys and the lifting machine.

In one embodiment of the present application, in the lifting thecontainer mode, the lifting machine may further be connected to a rollerline of the operating station. The control device receives the statussignal transmitted by the lifting machine, controls the lifting machineto transport the target container to a target storey of a thirdtransportation task, and controls the lifting machine to convey thetarget container to the roller line through which the target containeris transported to the operating station.

In practical application, the roller line may further be configured toreceive a container with which a task operation has been completed atthe operating station, and the task operation may be the pickupoperation.

In one embodiment of the present application, the control device mayfurther control the lifting machine to pick up the target container fromthe roller line and place the target container at the temporary storageposition of the lifting machine, and transport the target container tothe target storey of the transportation task. The control devicecontrols the self-driven robot located on the target storey to pick upthe target container from the temporary storage position of the liftingmachine, and transport the target container to the destination of thetransportation task.

After the self-driven robot carrying the target container moves to theoperating station, the control device can control the self-driven robotto queue up at the operating station and wait for the task operation.After the task operation is completed, the control device controls theself-driven robot to carry the target container with which the taskoperation has been completed, and transport the target container to anext operating station or return the target container to the storageunit in the shelf.

In order to improve a working efficiency of the self-driven robot, afterthe self-driven robot pushes the target container to the operatingstation, the target container is pushed to a storage position of theoperating station, and the control device can control the self-drivenrobot to obtain at least one operable container other than the targetcontainer and transport the at least one operable container to thestorage unit.

The storage position of the operating station may be a cache shelf ortemporary storage roller line of the operating station.

The operable container may be the container that has completed the taskoperation.

In one embodiment of the present application, the control device isfurther configured to: receive and store a code of the target container,and perform a popularity evaluation for the target container accordingto a popularity and quantity of items stored in the target container;control the self-driven robot to transport a target container whosepopularity exceeds a preset threshold to a storage unit of a shelf in apreset region, and record a binding relationship between the targetcontainer and the storage unit; or control the self-driven robot totransport the target container to a storage unit of a shelf by anincreasing distance from the operating station according to a descendingorder of the popularity of the target container, and record a bindingrelationship between the target container and the storage unit.

The preset region may be a region where a storage unit which isrelatively close to the operating station is located, for example, maybe a storage unit 3 meters or 5 meters away from the operating station.In this way, a container in which frequently taken and used items arelocated is stored in a storage unit which is relatively close to theoperating station, thus reducing time required for transporting andimproving a business processing efficiency.

A container shelf is a shelf placed on each floor of the loft in thestorage region, each container shelf has a plurality of storage units,and each storage unit can store one container.

In one embodiment of the present application, the passage for theself-driven robot to move through may be configured for an emergencymanual operation.

In addition, the storage region may further be provided with a walkingladder or an elevator.

When a system goes wrong, for example, in a condition that power fails,or a system is unable to work normally, workers perform thetransportation task on travel passages of a plurality of storeys throughthe walking ladder or the elevator to complete the emergency manualoperation.

In order to accurately determine a position of the container, thecontainer is provided with the code identifier for identification, andthe code identifier may be a two-dimensional code, a radio frequencyidentification (RFID) tag and the like.

Based on the robot operating system described above, a variety ofbusiness processes can be completed. A put-in storage process with fullcontainer load, a put-in storage process and a work flow of theoperating station are described as an example below.

A replenishment process refers to that items are not put in storagetogether with the container and the items are put in the existingcontainer. The work at the operating station includes works such asout-of-warehouse, stocktaking or tallying.

In one embodiment of the present application, the put-in storage processwith full container load includes steps described below.

In step (1), the control device receives a container number, a productnumber, and a quantity of the items and records a binding relationship.One container can bind various items.

In step (2), the control device determines whether there is an emptycontainer in a container shelf. Based on a determination result thatthere is the empty container on the container shelf, the control devicedispatches the self-driven robot to obtain the empty container andtransport the empty container to the operating station, and controls theself-driven robot to queue up at the operating station. Based on adetermination result that there is no empty container in the storageunit, the control device directly controls the self-driven robot toqueue up at the operating station.

When the self-driven robot needs to move up or down through the storeysin a transportation path, the self-driven robot is transported to acorresponding floor by the lifting machine. Step (2) and step (1) may beperformed simultaneously.

In step (3), the self-driven robot obtains the container, detects thecode of the container and submits the code of the container to thecontrol device, and the control device records the container number ofthe container transported by the self-driven robot.

In step (4), the control device allocates the container to acorresponding storage unit of a shelf according to a popularity andquantity of the items in the container.

In step (5), in a condition that containers are put in all containertemporary storage positions of the self-driven robot, or there is noremaining container to be put into storage at the operating station, thecontrol device dispatches the self-driven robot to leave the operatingstation, and plans an optimal path sequence for returning the containerfor the self-driven robot, and the self-driven robot moves to positionsof storage units allocated by the system sequentially and puts thecontainer into the storage unit. When the self-driven robot needs tomove up or down through the storeys in a path, the self-driven robot istransported to a corresponding floor by the lifting machine.

In one embodiment of the present application, the replenishment processincludes steps described below.

In step (1), the control device selects a plurality of containerscapable of storing items according to items needing to be stored in thestorage.

The plurality of containers may be empty containers or containers havingitems but still having a storage space.

The control device controls the self-driven robot to obtain thecontainers and transport the containers to the operating station, andthe self-driven robot queues up at the operating station. When theself-driven robot needs to move up or down through the storeys in apath, the self-driven robot is transported to a corresponding floor bythe lifting machine.

In step (2), a product code and a container code are received, a bindingrelationship between the container and the items is recorded, and theself-driven robot is controlled to receive the items through thecontainer.

In step (3), in a condition that the replenishment operation iscompleted currently at the operating station or a container currentlycarried by the self-driven robot has no storage space, the condition isfed back through an interactive interface of the control device, and thecontrol device allocates the container to a storage unit of acorresponding container shelf according to the popularity and quantityof the items in the container.

In step (4), the control device dispatches the self-driven robot toleave the operating station, and plans an optimal path sequence forreturning the container for the self-driven robot, and the self-drivenrobot moves to a position of the storage unit allocated by the controldevice and puts the container into the storage unit. When theself-driven robot needs to move up or down through the storeys in thepath, the self-driven robot is transported to a corresponding floor bythe lifting machine.

In one embodiment of the present application, the work flow of theoperating station includes steps described below.

In step (1), the operating station starts a work, the control devicehits a plurality of containers according to a work document, the controldevice allocates the self-driven robot to obtain the containers andtransport empty containers to the operating station, and the self-drivenrobot queues up at the operating station. When the self-driven robotneeds to move up or down through the storeys in a path, the self-drivenrobot is transported to a corresponding floor by the lifting machine.

In step (2), the work is performed at the operating station, and that anoperation on the container carried currently by the self-driven robot iscompleted is fed back to the control device through an interactiveinterface of the control apparatus.

In step (3), the control device allocates the container to a storageunit of a corresponding shelf according to a popularity and quantity ofcurrent items in the container.

In step (4), the control device dispatches the self-driven robot toleave the operating station, and plans an optimal path sequence forreturning the container for the self-driven robot, and the self-drivenrobot moves to positions of the storage units allocated by a system insequence and puts the container into the storage unit. When theself-driven robot needs to move up or down through the storeys in thepath, the self-driven robot is transported to a corresponding floor bythe lifting machine.

In the robot control system provided by the embodiment of the presentapplication, the passage for the self-driven robot to move through isprovided on the floor of each storey of the loft and the lifting machineis combined, such that the self-driven robot can run on each storey. Inthis way, flexibility of the self-driven robot is improved, variousoperations can be completed according to actual requirements, and thereis no need to install shuttle tracks, thereby greatly reducing aconstruction cost.

FIG. 6 illustrates a robot control method according to an embodiment ofthe present application. The robot control method is applied to acontrol device side, and includes step 602 to step 610.

In step 602, a transportation task is assigned to at least oneself-driven robot.

In one embodiment of the present application, the transportation taskcarries a code identifier of the target container.

In practical application, the code identifier may be a two-dimensionalcode or an RFID tag.

In step 604, a travel route on a target storey corresponding to thetransportation task is planned for the at least one self-driven robot,and the at least one self-driven robot is controlled to move to alocation of a target container corresponding to the transportation taskaccording to the travel route to pick up the target container.

In one embodiment of the present application, a storage region includesa loft having at least two storeys and is configured to store acontainer, and a passage for the self-driven robot to move through isprovided on the floor of each of the at least two storeys of the loft.

In step 606, the at least one self-driven robot carrying the targetcontainer is controlled to move to a position where a lifting machine islocated.

In one embodiment of the present application, the lifting machine isprovided with a temporary storage position configured to temporarilystore the at least one self-driven robot or the target container.

In a process that the self-driven robot moves to the temporary storageposition of the lifting machine, the control device can plan an optimaltravel route for the at least one self-driven robot and control the atleast one self-driven robot to travel according to the travel route toavoid collision.

In step 608, the lifting machine is controlled to transport the at leastone self-driven robot or the target container to a target storey where adestination of the transportation task is located.

In step 610, the at least one self-driven robot is controlled totransport the target container to the destination of the transportationtask.

In one embodiment of the present application, the transportation taskcarries the code identifier of the target container.

The control device controls the at least one self-driven robot to pickup the target container by recognizing the code identifier of the targetcontainer.

The lifting machine is provided with a temporary storage positionconfigured to temporarily store the at least one self-driven robot orthe target container.

In one embodiment, the transportation task includes a firsttransportation task, and a destination of the first transportation taskincludes the temporary storage position of the lifting machine. Thecontrol device controls a first self-driven robot in the at least oneself-driven robot to arrive at a location of a target container of atarget storey corresponding to the first transportation task accordingto a first travel route corresponding to the first transportation taskto pick up the target container.

In one embodiment, the transportation task further includes a secondtransportation task, and a destination of the second transportation taskincludes an operating station or a storage unit of a shelf of a targetstorey of the second transportation task. The control device receives aready status signal transmitted by the first self-driven robot. Thecontrol device controls the lifting machine to transport the firstself-driven robot to the target storey of the second transportationtask. The control device controls the first self-driven robot to movethrough on the target storey of the second transportation task accordingto a second travel route of the second transportation task, andtransport the target container to the operating station or the storageunit of the shelf of the target storey of the second transportationtask.

In another embodiment of the present application, the transportationtask includes a first transportation task, and a destination of thefirst transportation task includes the temporary storage position of thelifting machine. The control device controls a second self-driven robotin the at least one self-driven robot to arrive at a location of atarget container of a target storey corresponding to the firsttransportation task according to a first travel route corresponding tothe first transportation task to pick up the target container, andcontrols the second self-driven robot to transport the target containerto the temporary storage position of the lifting machine.

The transportation task further includes a second transportation task,and a destination of the second transportation task includes anoperating station or a storage unit of a shelf of a target storey of thesecond transportation task. The control device receives a ready statussignal transmitted by the second self-driven robot. The control devicecontrols the lifting machine to transport the target container to thetarget storey of the second transportation task. The control devicecontrols a third self-driven robot in at least two self-driven robots tomove through on the target storey of the second transportation taskaccording to a second travel route of the second transportation task,and transport the target container to the operating station or thestorage unit of the shelf of the target storey of the secondtransportation task. The second self-driven robot is different from thethird self-driven robot.

In another embodiment of the present application, the transportationtask further includes a third transportation task, and a destination ofthe third transportation task includes an operating station of a targetstorey of the third transportation task. The lifting machine isconnected to a roller line of the operating station. The control devicereceives the ready status signal transmitted by the second self-drivenrobot, controls the lifting machine to transport the target container tothe target storey of the third transportation task, and controls thelifting machine to transfer the target container to the roller linethrough which the target container is conveyed to the operating station.

In one embodiment, the control device further controls the roller lineto receive a container that has completed a pickup operation.

When the location of the target container is the roller line, thecontrol device controls the lifting machine to pick up the targetcontainer from the roller line, place the target container in thetemporary storage position of the lifting machine, and transport thetarget container to the target storey of the transportation task.

In one embodiment of the present application, the control devicecontrols the at least one self-driven robot to pick up the targetcontainer from the temporary storage position of the lifting machine onthe target storey of the transportation task, and transport the targetcontainer to the destination of the transportation task.

In one embodiment of the present application, the control devicecontrols the at least one self-driven robot carrying the targetcontainer to move to the operating station, and queue up at theoperating station to wait for the task operation. The work includesworks such as out-of-warehouse, stocktaking or tallying. After the taskoperation is completed, the at least one self-driven robot is controlledto carry a target container with which the task operation has beencompleted.

The control device may further control the at least one self-drivenrobot to push the target container to a cache shelf or a temporarystorage roller line of the operating station after the at least oneself-driven robot moves to the operating station, and obtain at leastone operable container other than the target container.

The destination of the transportation task includes the storage unit ofthe shelf. A step of the control device controlling the at least oneself-driven robot to transport the target container to the destinationof the transportation task includes steps described below. A code of atarget container with which the task operation has been completedtransmitted by the self-driven robot is received. A popularity of thetarget container is evaluated according to a popularity and quantity ofitems stored in the target container with which the task operation hasbeen completed. The self-driven robot is controlled to transport atarget container whose popularity exceeds a preset threshold to astorage unit of a shelf in a preset region, and a binding relationshipbetween the target container and the storage unit is recorded; or theself-driven robot is controlled to transport the container to a storageunit of a shelf by an increasing distance from the operating stationaccording to a descending order of the popularity of the container, anda binding relationship between the container and the storage unit isrecorded.

In the robot control method provided by the embodiment of the presentapplication, the lifting machine is combined, such that the self-drivenrobot can be controlled to move through on the passage for theself-driven robot to move through provided on the floor of each storeyof the loft. In this way, flexibility of the self-driven robot isgreatly improved, various operations can be completed according toactual requirements, and there is no need to install the shuttle tracks,thereby greatly reducing a construction cost.

FIG. 7 illustrates another robot control method according to anembodiment of the present application. The robot control method isapplied to a self-driven side, and includes step 702 to step 706.

In step 702, a transportation task assigned by a control device isreceived.

In step 704, a self-driven robot moves to a location of a targetcontainer corresponding to the transportation task on a target storeycorresponding to the transportation task according to a travel routeplanned by the control device to pick up the target container.

The target storey is a certain floor of a storage region having at leasttwo storeys of the loft. A passage for the self-driven robot to movethrough is provided on the floor of each of the at least two storeys ofthe loft of the storage region.

In step 706, the target container is transported to a destination of thetransportation task according to the travel route.

In one embodiment, the transportation task carries a code identifier ofthe target container; and the self-driven robot picks up the targetcontainer by recognizing the code identifier of the target container.

In one embodiment of the present application, the transportation taskincludes a first transportation task, and a destination of the firsttransportation task includes a temporary storage position of a liftingmachine. The self-driven robot arrives at a location of a targetcontainer of a target storey corresponding to the first transportationtask according to a first travel route corresponding to the firsttransportation task to pick up the target container. The self-drivenrobot carries the target container to arrive at the temporary storageposition of the lifting machine, and transmits a ready status signal tothe control device.

The transportation task further includes a second transportation task,and a destination of the second transportation task includes anoperating station or a storage unit of a shelf of a target storey of thesecond transportation task. The self-driven robot carries the targetcontainer to arrive at the target storey of the second transportationtask by the lifting machine. The self-driven robot runs on the targetstorey of the second transportation task according to a second travelroute of the second transportation task, and transports the targetcontainer to the operating station or the storage unit of the shelf ofthe target storey of the second transportation task.

In one embodiment of the present application, the transportation taskincludes a first transportation task, and a destination of the firsttransportation task includes a temporary storage position of a liftingmachine. The self-driven robot arrives at a location of a targetcontainer of a target storey corresponding to the first transportationtask according to a first travel route corresponding to the firsttransportation task to pick up the target container. The self-drivenrobot carries the target container to the temporary storage position ofthe lifting machine, and transmits a ready status signal to the controldevice.

In one embodiment of the present application, the transportation taskincludes a second transportation task, a destination of the secondtransportation task includes an operating station or a storage unit of ashelf of a target storey of the second transportation task, and alocation of the target container of the second transportation task is atemporary storage position of a lifting machine. The target container ofthe second transportation task is acquired from the temporary storageposition of the lifting machine, and the self-driven robot located onthe target storey of the second transportation task picks up the targetcontainer of the second transportation task from the temporary storageposition of the lifting machine. The self-driven robot runs on thetarget storey of the second transportation task according to a secondtravel route of the second transportation task, and transports thetarget container to the operating station or the storage unit of theshelf of the target storey of the second transportation task.

The self-driven robot carrying the target container moves to theoperating station and queues up at the operating station to wait for apickup operation. After the pickup operation is completed, theself-driven robot carries the target container that has completed thepickup operation, and transports the target container to a nextoperating station or returns the target container to the shelf.

The self-driven robot pushes the target container to a cache shelf or atemporary storage roller line of the operating station, and obtains atleast one operable container by a set pickup telescopic mechanism.

In one embodiment of the present application, the destination of thetransportation task includes the storage unit of the shelf. A step oftransporting the target container to the destination of thetransportation task includes steps described below. The self-drivenrobot detects a code of a container that has completed the pickupoperation and transmits the code to the control device. A containerwhere items are located, whose popularity exceeds a preset threshold, istransported to a storage unit of a shelf in a preset region; or thecontainer is transported to a storage unit of a shelf from by anincreasing distance from the operating station according to a descendingorder of the popularity of the containers.

In the robot control method provided by the embodiment of the presentapplication, the lifting machine is combined, such that the self-drivenrobot can run on the passage for the self-driven robot to move throughprovided on the floor of each storey of the loft. In this way,flexibility of the self-driven robot is greatly improved, variousoperations can be completed according to actual requirements, and thereis no need to install shuttle tracks, thereby greatly reducing aconstruction cost.

FIG. 8 and FIG. 13 show a robot control system according to anembodiment of the present application. The robot control system includesa storage region, a container 101, a self-driven robot 103, a containerlifting machine 1041, a control device 105 and a temporary storagemechanism 108.

The storage region includes at least two storeys of the loft 107 and isconfigured to store the container 101, and a passage for the self-drivenrobot 103 to move through is provided on the floor of the loft 107. Eachstorey of the loft 107 is provided with at least one self-driven robot103 and at least one temporary storage mechanism 108.

In the embodiment of the present application, the container 101 may be awork bin or a container 101 on the container carrier, a tray on thecontainer carrier, or other containers that can be used for holdingarticles. The self-driven robot 103 runs on a storey where theself-driven robot 103 is located and acquires one or more containers 101through the passage for the self-driven robot 103 to move through.Meanwhile, workers can work on the passage of the loft 107, that is, anoperating station 106 can be provided on each storey of the loft 107 toperform operations such as a pickup operation, a stocktaking operation,a good pickup operation or a tallying operation on the container 101.

The control device 105 is configured to assign a transportation task tothe self-driven robot 103 and plan a travel route on the storey for theself-driven robot 103 according to the transportation task, and dispatchthe self-driven robot 103 to travel according to the travel route andperform the transportation task.

The control device 105 is further configured to assign thetransportation task to the self-driven robot 103 and plan the travelroute on the storey for the self-driven robot 103 according to thetransportation task, and control the self-driven robot 103 to movethrough on the storey where the self-driven robot 103 is locatedaccording to the travel route and perform the transportation task. Thetransportation task includes that the self-driven robot 103 picks up thetarget container at a first target position of the storey where theself-driven robot 103 is located, and transports the target container tothe temporary storage mechanism 108; and/or, the self-driven robot 103picks up the target container at the temporary storage mechanism 108 andtransports the target container to a second target position of thestorey where the self-driven robot 103 is located. The first targetposition refers to a position of the target container when theself-driven robot 103 picks up the target container according to thetransportation task. The second target position refers to a position ofthe target container when the self-driven robot 103 places the targetcontainer according to the transportation task. The first targetposition may be the same as or different from the second targetposition.

In the embodiment of the present application, the control device 105 canstore a correspondence relationship between the container 101 and astorage vacancy of the container carrier of the loft 107 and inventoryinformation of the container carrier of the loft 107, thereby generatingthe transportation task according to a document that need to work, andallocating the self-driven robot 103 to perform the transportation task.Meanwhile, the control device 105 can further plan a path and dispatchthe self-driven robot 103 to implement the path to avoid collision. Thecontrol device 105 is communicatively connected to the container liftingmachine 1041, the temporary storage mechanism 108 and the self-drivenrobot 103 such that the self-driven robot 103 is docked to the temporarystorage mechanism 108, and the temporary storage mechanism 108 is dockedto the container lifting machine 1041.

The temporary storage mechanism 108 is configured to bear the targetcontainer, and convey the target container to the container liftingmachine 1041, and/or transfer the target container away from thecontainer lifting machine 1041. The container lifting machine 1041 isconfigured to transport the target container to a target storeycorresponding to the transportation task.

In one embodiment of the present application, a certain storey A isprovided with one self-driven robot B and one temporary storagemechanism C. The control device can control the self-driven robot B topick up the target container at a first target position of the storey A,transport the target container to the temporary storage mechanism C forstorage, and then the control device can control the temporary storagemechanism C to convey the target container to the container liftingmachine. When other containers are also transported to the storey A bythe container lifting machine, a controller can further control thetemporary storage mechanism C to convey the target container away fromthe container lifting machine and to the temporary storage mechanism C,and control the self-driven robot A to pick up the target container atthe temporary storage mechanism C and transport the target container toa second target position of the container.

In the embodiment of the present application, a cross-layertransportation of the container 101 is achieved by the container liftingmachine 1041, and the container lifting machine 1041 cooperates with thetemporary storage mechanism 108 to dock to the self-driven robot 103.For example, after the self-driven robot 103 picks up the targetcontainer, the control device 105 dispatches the self-driven robot 103to transfer the target container to the temporary storage mechanism 108,the temporary storage mechanism 108 transports the target container tothe container lifting machine 1041, and after the container liftingmachine 1041 transports the target container to the target storey, thetarget container is transferred to a corresponding temporary storagemechanism 108 and waits to be taken away by a corresponding self-drivenrobot 103.

In one embodiment, the temporary storage mechanism 108 may be a rollertable mechanism, such as track lines or conveyor belts, and thetemporary storage mechanism 108 has a hierarchical structure of n. Thecontrol device 105 is further configured to control the containerlifting machine 1041 to transport the target container to an idlehierarchy in the temporary storage mechanism 108, where n is a naturalnumber and n is greater than or equal to 2. The number of hierarchies ofthe temporary storage mechanism 108 can be designed and adjustedaccording to a user service situation.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 13, the temporary storagemechanism is disposed on one or two sides of the container liftingmachine 1041, and the container lifting machine 1041 is disposedcorresponding to the temporary storage mechanism. In a case where thetemporary storage mechanism is disposed on two sides of the containerlifting machine, a temporary storage mechanism disposed on one side ofthe container lifting machine 1041 is configured to feed the container101 into the container lifting machine 1041; and a temporary storagemechanism disposed on the other side of the container lifting machine1041 is configured to send the container 101 out of the containerlifting machine 1041, and a feed-in operation and a send-out operationmay be completed successively or synchronously.

In one embodiment, the container lifting machine 1041 includes atransfer mechanism 10412 and a container temporary position 10411. Thetransfer mechanism 10412 is configured to load a target container fromthe temporary storage mechanism into the container temporary position10411, and/or load a target container on the container temporaryposition 10411 into the temporary storage mechanism.

In one embodiment, the transfer mechanism 10412 includes a rollermechanism or a robot arm, and the roller mechanism or the robot arm hasa degree of freedom in four directions front, back, left and right of ahorizontal plane, such that the container lifting machine 1041 can dockto the temporary storage mechanism 108 in multiple directions.

A working process of the embodiment of the present application isdescribed below. Under the control of the control device 105, theself-driven robot 103 acquires a container 101 that needs to betransported across floors to another floor. According to factors such asa floor to which the container 101 is to go, an optimal path of theself-driven robot 103 to the container lifting machine 1041 and aqueuing situation of the self-driven robot 103 in front of the containerlifting machine 1041, the control device 105 allocates the self-drivenrobot 103 to a temporary storage mechanism 108 docking to acorresponding container lifting machine 1041, such that at least onecontainer 101 is sequentially fed into the corresponding containerlifting machine 1041. When at least one container 101 is lifted to thetarget storey, the temporary storage mechanism 108 moves the container101 out of the container lifting machine 1041 and temporarily stores thecontainer 101. The control device 105 reallocates the self-driven robot103 to the temporary storage mechanism 108 to take out the container101, and transport the container 101 to the operating station 106 of thestorage region for picking. After the picking is completed, across-layer transfer return of the container 101 is implementedaccording to the above-mentioned mode.

In the robot control system provided by the embodiment of the presentapplication, a problem of items-to-man picking of three-dimensionalstorage is solved by adopting the self-driven robot 103 combined with aloft shelf. The passage for the self-driven robot 103 to move through isprovided on the floor of each storey of the loft 107, and the containerlifting machine 1041 is combined to transport the target container toeach target floor, such that the self-driven robot can run on eachstorey, thereby improving an efficiency of the warehouse in terms ofcross-layer logistics transmission. The temporary storage mechanism 108docking to the self-driven robot 103 is disposed at a position of thecontainer lifting machine 1041, such that the container lifting machine1041 can also operate normally under a condition that no self-drivenrobot 103 is idle temporarily, and the cross-layer transmission of thecontainers 101 of different storeys is achieved in a flexible andefficient form, thereby improving the efficiency and flexibility of thewhole robot picking system, and reducing a cost of a containercross-layer transmission scheme.

FIG. 2 shows a communication framework of a robot control deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present application.

Components of the control device 105 include, but are not limited to, amemory 210 and a processor 220. The processor 220 is connected to thememory 210 through a bus 230, and a database 250 is used for storing thetransportation task.

The control device 105 further includes an access device 240 thatenables the control device 105 to communicate through one or morenetworks 260. Examples of the networks include a public switchedtelephone network (PSTN), a local area network (LAN), a wide areanetwork (WAN), a personal area network (PAN), or a combination ofcommunication networks such as the Internet. The access device 240 mayinclude one or more of any type of network interfaces (such as, anetwork interface card (NIC)) of wired or wireless, such as an IEEE802.11 wireless local area networks (WLAN) wireless interface, aworldwide interoperability for microwave access (Wi-MAX) interface, anethernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a cellularnetwork interface, a bluetooth interface and a near field communication(NFC) interface.

In one embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned of thecontrol device 105 and other components not shown in FIG. 2 may also beconnected to each other, for example, by the bus.

The control device 105 may be any type of stationary or mobile computingdevice including a mobile computer or mobile computing device (such as,a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant, a laptop computer, anotebook computer and a netbook), a mobile phone (such as a smartphone), a wearable computing device (such as a smart watch and smartglasses) or other types of mobile devices, or a stationary computingdevice such as a desktop computer or a personal computer (PC). Thecontrol device 105 may further be a mobile or stationary server.

The control device 105 is communicatively connected to the self-drivenrobot 103 and the lifting machine through the network 260, and controlsthe robot control system by transmitting control instructions orreceiving a message returned by the self-driven robot or the liftingmachine.

In another embodiment of the present application, the transportationtask carries a code identifier of the target container. The controldevice 105 is further configured to control at least one self-drivenrobot 103 to move to a location of the target container according to atravel route on a storey where the self-driven robots 103 is located,and pick up the target container by checking the code identifier of thetarget container.

It is to be noted that the embodiment of the present application doesnot limit a structure of the self-driven robot, and a function of takingout the container from the shelf and putting the container into theshelf can be achieved by any of the structures in the existing art. Forexample, a mechanical arm may be arranged on the self-driven robot, andthe mechanical arm is utilized to take out the container from the shelfand put the container into the shelf; a clamping structure may also bearranged on the self-driven robot, and the container is taken out fromthe shelf and put into the shelf in a clamping mode; or the containermay be taken out from the shelf and put into the shelf by using otherstructures. For example, exemplarily, referring to FIG. 3, in oneembodiment of the present application, the at least one self-drivenrobot 103 includes a pickup telescopic mechanism 301, a liftingmechanism 302, and a robot moving chassis 303. The pickup telescopicmechanism 301 is configured to obtain one or more target containers. Thelifting mechanism 302 is configured to adjust the pickup telescopicmechanism 301 to move upwards or downwards such that the pickuptelescopic mechanism obtains target containers on shelves of differentheights of the target storey.

The robot moving chassis 303 is configured to control the at least oneself-driven robot to move through on a travel passage of the storeywhere the self-driven robot is located according to the travel routeplanned by the control device.

The target container is the container 101 which needs to be transportedin the transportation task.

The self-driven robot 103 provided by the embodiment of the presentapplication runs on the travel passage on the floor of the loft 102,such that the flexibility for transporting the container is greatlyimproved, the various operations can be completed according to theactual requirements, and there is no need to install shuttle tracks,thereby greatly reducing the construction cost.

In another embodiment of the present application, the temporary storagemechanism 108 includes a first temporary storage roller line, a secondtemporary storage roller line and a transfer position, thetransportation task includes a first transportation task, and adestination of the first transportation task includes a transferposition corresponding to the first temporary storage roller line. Thecontrol device 105 is further configured to control a first self-drivenrobot in the at least one self-driven robot 103 to pick up the targetcontainer at a location of the target container of the storey where thetarget container is located according to a first travel routecorresponding to the first transportation task. The control device 105is further configured to control the first self-driven robot totransport the target container to the transfer position corresponding tothe first temporary storage roller line. The first self-driven robot isconfigured to transmit a ready status signal to the control device 105.The control device 105 is further configured to receive the ready statussignal, and control the first temporary storage roller line to transportthe target container to the container lifting machine 1041.

The transportation task further includes a second transportation task,and a destination of the second transportation task includes a transferposition corresponding to the second temporary storage roller line. Thecontrol device 105 is further configured to control the containerlifting machine 1041 to transport the target container to a targetstorey of the second transportation task. The control device 105 isfurther configured to control the container lifting machine 1041 totransport the target container to the transfer position corresponding tothe second temporary storage roller line. The container lifting machine1041 is further configured to transmit a status signal waiting forreceiving items to the control device 105.

The transportation task further includes a third transportation task,and a destination of the third transportation task includes an operatingstation 106 or a container carrier of the target storey of the secondtransportation task. The control device 105 is further configured toreceive the status signal waiting for receiving items and control asecond self-driven robot in the at least one self-driven robot 103 tomove through on a storey where the second self-driven robot is locatedaccording to a third travel route corresponding to the thirdtransportation task. The control device 105 is further configured tocontrol the second self-driven robot to transport the target containerto the operating station 106 or the container carrier of the targetstorey of the second transportation task from the transfer positioncorresponding to the second temporary storage roller line. The firstself-driven robot is different from the second self-driven robot.

In the embodiment of the present application, the transportation taskconsists of the first transportation task, the second transportationtask and the third transportation task. The first temporary storageroller line and the second temporary storage roller line correspond to abox-placing temporary storage roller line for acquiring the container101 and a box-taking temporary storage roller line for temporarilystoring the container 101 respectively. Transfer positions for dockingto the self-driven robots are disposed on the box-taking temporarystorage roller line and the box-placing temporary storage roller line.An operation process of the transportation task of this embodiment isdescribed below. The self-driven robot 103 transports the obtainedcontainer 101 to the transfer position corresponding to the box-placingtemporary storage roller line. The box-placing temporary storage rollerline feeds the container 101 into the container lifting machine 1041.After the container 101 arrives at the target storey, the containerlifting machine 1041 transfers the container 101 to the box-takingtemporary storage roller line, where the box-taking temporary storageroller line is configured to have a multi-layer form. The control device105 can move the container 101 into an idle layer according to a freecondition of the box-taking temporary storage roller line. The controldevice 105 controls the self-driven robot 103 on the target storey tomove to the box-taking temporary storage roller line to take out one ormore containers 101. The control device 105 again dispatches aself-driven robot 103 that has completed a box-taking operation totransport the container 101 to the operating station 106 on the targetstorey.

In the embodiment of the present application, the temporary storagemechanism further includes a third temporary storage roller line, andthe third temporary storage roller line and the second temporary storageroller line are disposed on two sides of the container lifting machine1041 respectively. The transportation task further includes a fourthtransportation task, and a destination of the fourth transportation taskincludes a target storey of the fourth transportation task.

The control device 105 is further configured to control the thirdtemporary storage roller line to transport a container 101 located on atransfer position of the third temporary storage roller line to thecontainer lifting machine 1041.

The control device 105 is further configured to control the containerlifting machine 1041 to transport the container 101 to the target storeyof the fourth transportation task.

The third temporary storage roller line corresponds to the box-placingtemporary storage roller line used for acquiring the container 101. Afeed-in operation of the box-placing temporary storage roller line and asend-out operation of the box-taking temporary storage roller line maybe completed synchronously.

In another embodiment of the present application, the storage regionincludes at least one storage layer and one picking layer. The operatingstation 106 is disposed on the picking layer, and the operating station106 is configured to perform a task operation on the target container.

In one embodiment, the control device 105 is further configured tocontrol the self-driven robot 103 to carry the target container to theoperating station 106, and the self-driven robot 103 queues up at theoperating station 106 to wait for the task operation. The control device105 is further configured to, after the task operation is completed,control the self-driven robot 103 to carry the target container withwhich the task operation has been completed and transport the targetcontainer to a next operating station 106 or return the target containerto the container carrier of the loft 107.

In one embodiment, in order to improve a working efficiency of theself-driven robot 103, the control device 105 is further configured to,after the self-driven robot 103 is controlled to arrive at the operatingstation 106, control the self-driven robot 103 to transport the targetcontainer to the container carrier of the operating station 106, andobtain at least one operable container 101 other than the targetcontainer by controlling a pickup telescopic mechanism disposed on theself-driven robot 103.

The operable container may be the container 101 that has completed thetask operation.

In another embodiment of the present application, the control device 105is further configured to receive a target container code identified bythe self-driven robot 103 and perform a popularity evaluation for thetarget container based on a popularity and quantity of items stored inthe target container.

The control device 105 is further configured to control the self-drivenrobot 103 to transport a target container whose popularity exceeds apreset threshold to a container carrier in a preset region, and record abinding relationship between the target container and the containercarrier. Alternatively, the control device 105 is further configured tocontrol the self-driven robot 103 to transport the target container to acontainer carrier of the loft 107 by an increasing distance from theoperating station 106 of the loft 107 according to a descending order ofthe popularity of the target container, and record a bindingrelationship between the target container and the container carrier.

The preset region may be a region where a storage unit which isrelatively close to the operating station 106 is located, for example,may be a container carrier 3 meters or 5 meters away from the operatingstation 106. In this way, a container 101 in which frequently taken andused items are located is stored in a container carrier which isrelatively close to the operating station, thus reducing time requiredfor transporting and improving a business processing efficiency.

A container carrier is a shelf placed on each storey of the loft 107 ofthe storage region, each container carrier has a plurality of storageunits, and each storage unit can store one container.

In one embodiment, the container carrier includes, but is not limitedto, storage shelves placed on each storey of the loft 107 of the storageregion. Each container carrier has a plurality of storage units, andeach storage unit can store one container.

A storage position of the operating station includes a storage shelf ora temporary storage roller table, and the storage position is used forstoring the container on the operating station.

In another embodiment of the present application, the passage for theself-driven robot 103 to move through can be used for emergency manualoperation.

In another embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG. 9,the robot system further includes a robot lifting machine 1042. Therobot lifting machine 1042 is configured to dispatch the self-drivenrobot 103 to a corresponding target storey according to controlinstructions of the control device 105 when business volumes ofdifferent target storeys change.

In the embodiment of the present application, as illustrated in FIG. 9,an operation flow of a container cross-layer transmission schemeincludes the following steps.

In step (1), the control device 105 allocates the self-driven robot 103on the target storey to acquire one or more target containers in thestorage region, and the control device 105 allocates the self-drivenrobot 103 to a designated container lifting machine 1041 to perform acache operation according to positions of the self-driven robot 103 andthe container lifting machine 1041 and a queuing situation of theself-driven robot 103.

In step (2), when the self-driven robot 103 arrives at a dockingposition of the designated container lifting machine 1041, if a transferposition of the box-placing temporary storage roller line is idle, thecontrol device 105 controls the self-driven robot 103 to place thetarget container on the transfer position of the box-placing temporarystorage roller line, and the box-placing temporary storage roller linefeeds the target container to the container lifting machine 1041; and ifthe transfer position of the box-placing temporary storage roller lineis not idle, the self-driven robot 103 waits for a box-placinginstruction at the transfer position of the box-placing temporarystorage roller line.

In step (3), when the container lifting machine 1041 transports thetarget container to the target storey, the control device 105 controls atransfer device to transfer the target container from the containerlifting machine 1041 to the box-taking temporary storage roller line,and meanwhile allocates the self-driven robot 103 to a docking point ofa corresponding container lifting machine 1041 to pick up the targetcontainer.

In step (4), after the self-driven robot 103 picks up the targetcontainer at the transfer position of the box-taking temporary storageroller line, the self-driven robot 103 moves to a place designated bythe control device 105 to perform a designated operation.

In step (5), after the designated operation is completed, the controldevice 105 allocates the target container back to an original position,and the target container is returned to the original position accordingto step 101 to step 104.

In step (6), when the business volumes of different target storeyschange, the control device 105 reallocates the number of the self-drivenrobots 103 on each floor, and the self-driven robot 103 is dispatched toa designated target storey by the robot lifting machine 1042.

In addition, the storage region may further be provided with a walkingladder or an elevator.

When a system goes wrong, for example, when power is off, or the systemis unable to work normally, workers perform the transportation task ontravel passages of each storey through the walking ladder or theelevator to complete the emergency manual operation.

In order to accurately determine a position of the container 101, thecontainer 101 is provided with the code identifier for identification,and the code identifier may be a two-dimensional code, a RFID tag andthe like.

Based on the robot operating system described above, a variety ofbusiness processes can be completed. A put-in storage process of fullcontainer load, a put-in storage process and a work flow of theoperating station 107 are described as an example below.

A replenishment process refers to that items are not put in storagetogether with the container 101 and the items are put in the existingcontainer 101. The work at the operating station 107 includes works suchas out-of-warehouse, stocktaking or tallying.

In the embodiment of the present application, the put-in storage processof full container load includes steps described below.

In step (1), the control device 105 receives a container number, aproduct number, and a quantity of the items and records a bindingrelationship between the container number, the product number, and thequantity of the items and the container 101, where one container 101 canbind various items.

In step (2), the control device 105 determines that if there is an emptycontainer on the container carrier of the storage region or thetemporary storage mechanism 108, the control device allocates theself-driven robot 103 to obtain the empty container 101 and transportthe empty container 101 to the operating station 106, and controls theself-driven robot 103 to queue up at the operating station 106. If thereis no empty container 101 on the container carrier of the storage regionor the temporary storage mechanism 108, the control device 105 directlycontrols the self-driven robot 103 to queue up at the operating station106. The cross-layer transmission of the container 101 is achieved bythe container lifting machine 1041 and the temporary storage mechanism108 in a transportation path.

In step (3), the self-driven robot 103 obtains the container 101,detects the code identifier of the container 101 and submits the codeidentifier to the control device 105, and the control device 105 recordsa container number of the container transported by the self-driven robot103.

In step (4), the control device 105 allocates the container 101 to astorage unit of a corresponding container shelf according to apopularity and quantity of items in the container 101.

In step (5), when containers 101 are put into all container temporarystorage positions of the self-driven robot 103, or there is no remainingcontainer 101 to be put into storage at the operating station 106, thecontrol device 105 dispatches the self-driven robot 103 to leave theoperating station 106 and plans an optimal path sequence for returningthe container for the self-driven robot 103, and the self-driven robot103 moves to positions of allocated storage units sequentially and putsthe container 101 into the storage unit. The cross-layer transmission ofthe container 101 is achieved by the container lifting machine 1041 andthe temporary storage mechanism 108 in a return path.

In the embodiment of the present application, the replenishment processincludes steps described below.

In step (1), the control device 105 selects a plurality of containers101 capable of storing items according to items needing to be stored inthe storage. The plurality of containers 101 may be empty containers 101or containers 101 having items but still having a storage space. Thecontrol device 105 allocates the self-driven robot 103 to obtain thecontainer 101, transport the container 101 to the operating station 106and queue up at the operating station 106. The cross-layer transmissionof the container 101 is achieved by the container lifting machine 1041and the temporary storage mechanism 108 in a transportation path.

In step (2), the control device 105 receives a product code and acontainer code, records a binding relationship between the container 101and the items, and controls the self-driven robot 103 to receive theitems through the container 101.

In step (3), when the replenishment operation is completed currently atthe operating station or a container 101 currently carried by theself-driven robot 103 has no storage space, workers make a feedbackthrough an interactive interface of the control device 105, and thecontrol device 105 allocates the container 101 to a storage unit of acorresponding container shelf according to the popularity and quantityof the items in the container 101.

In step (4), the control device 105 dispatches the self-driven robot 103to leave the operating station 106, and plans an optimal return pathsequence for the self-driven robot 103. The self-driven robot 103 movesto positions of storage units of the container carrier allocated by thecontrol device 105 and puts the container 101 into the storage unit ofthe container carrier. The cross-layer transmission of the container 101is achieved by the container lifting machine 1041 and the temporarystorage mechanism 108 in a return path.

In the embodiment of the present application, the work flow of theoperating station 106 includes steps described below.

In step (1), the operating station 106 starts a work, and the controldevice 105 hits a plurality of containers 101 according to a workdocument. The control device 105 allocates the self-driven robot 103 toobtain the hit containers 101, transport the hit containers 101 to theoperating station 106 according to the planned transportation path, andqueue up at the operating station 106. The cross-layer transmission ofthe container 101 is achieved by the container lifting machine 1041 andthe temporary storage mechanism 108 in the transportation path.

In step (2), after the work at the operating station 106 is completed,that an operation on the container 101 carried currently by theself-driven robot 103 is completed is fed back to the control device 105through the interactive interface of the control device 105.

In step (3), the control device 105 allocates the container 101 to astorage unit of a corresponding container carrier according to a currentpopularity and quantity of items in the container 101.

In step (4), the control device 105 dispatches the self-driven robot 103to leave the operating station 106, and plans an optimal return pathsequence for the self-driven robot 103. The self-driven robot 103 movesto positions of storage units of the container carrier allocated by thecontrol device 105 and puts the container 101 into the storage unit ofthe container carrier. The cross-layer transmission of the container 101is achieved by the container lifting machine 1041 and the temporarystorage mechanism 108 in the return path.

In the robot control system provided by the embodiment of the presentapplication, the passage for the self-driven robot 103 to move throughis provided on the floor of each storey of the loft and the liftingmachine is combined, such that the self-driven robot 103 can run on eachstorey. In this way, the flexibility of the self-driven robot 103 isimproved, the various operations can be completed according to theactual requirements, and there is no need to install shuttle tracks,thereby greatly reducing the construction cost.

The processor 220 can perform steps in the method illustrated in FIG.10. FIG. 10 shows an exemplarily flowchart of a robot control methodaccording to an embodiment of the present application, and the robotcontrol method includes step 1001 to step 1005.

In step 1001, a transportation task is assigned to a self-driven robot.

In step 1002, a travel route on a storey where the self-driven robot islocated is planned for the self-driven robot according to thetransportation task, and the self-driven robot is controlled to obtain atarget container at a first target position on the storey where theself-driven robot is located and transport the target container to thetemporary storage mechanism 108.

In the embodiment of the present application, the transportation taskcarries a code identifier of the target container.

The step of controlling the self-driven robot to pick up the targetcontainer at the first target position on the storey where theself-driven robot is located includes steps described below.

At least one self-driven robot is controlled to move to a location ofthe target container on the storey where the self-driven robot islocated according to the travel route and pick up the target containerby recognizing the code identifier of the target container.

In the embodiment of the present application, the transportation taskincludes a first task, and the step of controlling the self-driven robotto pick up the target container at the first target position on thestorey where the self-driven robot is located includes a step describedbelow. A first self-driven robot in the at least one self-driven robotis controlled to pick up the target container at the location of thetarget container on the storey where the self-driven robot is locatedaccording to a first travel route corresponding to the firsttransportation task.

In the embodiment of the present application, the temporary storagemechanism is a roller table mechanism, the temporary storage mechanismincludes a first temporary storage roller line and a transfer position,and a destination of the first transportation task includes the transferposition corresponding to the first temporary storage roller line.

Transporting the target container to the temporary storage mechanismincludes controlling the first self-driven robot to transport the targetcontainer to the transfer position corresponding to the first temporarystorage roller line.

In step 1003, the temporary storage mechanism 108 is controlled totransport the target container to a container lifting machine.

Controlling the temporary storage mechanism to transport the targetcontainer to the container lifting machine includes steps describedbelow. A status signal that the first self-driven robot is ready isreceived. The first temporary storage roller line is controlled totransport the target container to the container lifting machine.

In step 1004, the container lifting machine is controlled to transportthe target container to a target storey where the destination of thetransportation task is located.

In the embodiment of the present application, the transportation taskfurther includes a second transportation task, and a destination of thesecond transportation task includes a target storey of the secondtransportation task. Controlling the container lifting machine totransport the target container to the target storey where thedestination of the transportation task is located includes a stepdescribed below. The container lifting machine is controlled totransport the target container to the target storey of the secondtransportation task.

The processor 220 can perform steps in the method illustrated in FIG.11. FIG. 11 shows an exemplarily flowchart of a robot control methodaccording to an embodiment of the present application, and the robotcontrol method includes step 1101 to step 1102.

In step 1101, a temporary storage mechanism on a target storey where adestination of a transportation task is located is controlled to receiveand temporarily store a container from the container lifting machine.

In the embodiment of the present application, the temporary storagemechanism is a roller table mechanism, and the temporary storagemechanism includes a second temporary storage roller line and a transferposition. The transportation task further includes a secondtransportation task, and a destination of the second transportation taskincludes the transfer position corresponding to the second temporarystorage roller line. Controlling the temporary storage mechanism on thetarget storey where the destination of the transportation task islocated to receive and temporarily store the container from thecontainer lifting machine includes a step described below. The containerlifting machine is controlled to transport the target container to thetransfer position corresponding to the second temporary storage rollerline.

In step 1102, the self-driven robot is controlled to transport thetarget container to the destination of the transportation task from thetemporary storage mechanism on the storey where the self-driven robot islocated.

In the embodiment of the present application, the transportation taskfurther includes a third transportation task, and a destination of thethird transportation task includes an operating station or a containercarrier of the target storey of the second transportation task.

Controlling the self-driven robot to transport the target container tothe destination of the transportation task from the temporary storagemechanism on the storey where the self-driven robot is located includessteps described below. A status signal waiting for receiving items isreceived. A second self-driven robot in the at least one self-drivenrobot is controlled to move through on a storey where the secondself-driven robot is located according to a third travel routecorresponding to the third transportation task. The second self-drivenrobot is controlled to transport the target container to the operatingstation or the container carrier of the target storey of the secondtransportation task from the transfer position corresponding to thesecond temporary storage roller line. The first self-driven robot isdifferent from the second self-driven robot.

In the embodiment of the present application, the temporary storagemechanism further includes a third temporary storage roller line, andthe third temporary storage roller line and the second temporary storageroller line are disposed on two sides of the container lifting machinerespectively. The transportation task further includes a fourthtransportation task, and a destination of the fourth transportation taskincludes a target storey of the fourth transportation task.

After the container lifting machine is controlled to transport thetarget container to the transfer position corresponding to the secondtemporary storage roller line, the method further includes stepsdescribed below. The third temporary storage roller line is controlledto transport a container on a transfer position of the third temporarystorage roller line to the container lifting machine. The containerlifting machine is controlled to transport the container to the targetstorey of the fourth transportation task.

In the embodiment of the present application, the destination of thetransportation task includes a container carrier of a loft. Controllingthe self-driven robot to transport the target container to thedestination of the transportation task from the temporary storagemechanism on the storey where the self-driven robot is located includessteps described below. A code of a target container that has completed apicking transmitted by the self-driven robot is received. A popularityof the target container is evaluated according to a popularity andquantity of items stored in the target container that has completed thepicking. The self-driven robot is controlled to transport a targetcontainer whose popularity exceeds a preset threshold to a containercarrier in a preset region, and a binding relationship between thetarget container and the container carrier is recorded; or theself-driven robot is controlled to transport the container to acontainer carrier by an increasing distance from the operating stationof the loft according to a descending order of the popularity of thecontainer, and a binding relationship between the target container andthe container carrier is recorded.

In the embodiment of the present application, as illustrated in FIG. 12,after the self-driven robot is controlled to transport the targetcontainer to the destination of the transportation task from thetemporary storage mechanism on the storey where the self-driven robot islocated, the method further includes step 1201 to step 1202.

In step 1201, the self-driven robot is controlled to carry the targetcontainer to the operating station, and queue up at the operatingstation to wait for the task operation.

In step 1202, after the task operation is completed, the self-drivenrobot is controlled to carry the target container with which the taskoperation has been completed, and transport the target container to anext operating station or return the target container to the containercarrier of the loft.

In the embodiment of the present application, after the self-drivenrobot is controlled to transport the target container to the destinationof the transportation task from the temporary storage mechanism on thestorey where the self-driven robot is located, the method furtherincludes a step described below. After the self-driven robot iscontrolled to arrive at the operating station, the control devicecontrols the self-driven robot to transport the target container to thestorage position of the operating station, and obtain one or more otheroperable containers 101 by controlling a pickup telescopic mechanismdisposed on the self-driven robot.

In the robot control method provided by the embodiment of the presentapplication, the container lifting machine is combined, such that thecontainer lifting machine can cooperate with the self-driven robot 103to move through on travel passages of different storeys. In this way,the flexibility of the self-driven robot 103 is greatly improved, thevarious operations can be completed according to the actualrequirements, and there is no need to install the shuttle tracks,thereby greatly reducing the construction cost.

One embodiment of the present application further provides a computingdevice, including a memory, a processor and computer instructions storedin the memory and operable on the processor, and when the computerinstructions are executed, the processor implements the step of thepreviously described robot control method.

One embodiment of the present application further provides acomputer-readable storage medium storing computer-executableinstructions. When the computer-executable instructions are executed, aprocessor implements the step of the previously described robot controlmethod.

The above is a schematic scheme of a computer-readable storage medium ofthis embodiment. It is to be noted that the technical scheme of thestorage medium belongs to a same concept as the technical scheme of theabove-mentioned robot control method, and detailed contents of thetechnical scheme of the storage medium that are not described in detailcan refer to the description of the technical scheme of theabove-mentioned robot control method.

The above describes specific embodiments of the present specification.Other embodiments are within the scope of the appended claims. In somecases, the actions or steps recorded in the claims may be performed in adifferent order than in the embodiments and the desired results maystill be achieved. In addition, the processes depicted in the drawingsdo not necessarily require a shown specific order or successive order toachieve the desired results. In some embodiments, multitasking andparallel processing are also possible or may be advantageous.

The computer instructions include computer procedure code, and thecomputer procedure code may be in forms such as a source code form, anobject code form, an executable file form, or some intermediate form.The computer-readable medium may include any entity or apparatus capableof carrying the computer procedure code, a recording medium, a U disk, amobile hard disk, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a computer memory, aread-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an electriccarrier signal, a telecommunication signal, a software distributionmedium, and the like. It is to be noted that the content contained inthe computer-readable medium may be appropriately increased or decreasedaccording to the requirements of legislation and patent practice injurisdictions, for example, in some jurisdictions, according to thelegislation and patent practice, the computer-readable medium does notinclude the electrical carrier signal and the telecommunication signal.

It is to be noted that for simple description, the foregoing methodembodiments are all expressed as a series of action combinations.However, those skilled in the art should understand that the presentapplication is not limited by the described action sequences, andaccording to the present application, some steps may be performed inother sequences or concurrently. Secondly, it is also to be understoodby those skilled in the art that the embodiments described in thespecification are exemplary embodiments and that the actions and modulesinvolved are not necessarily necessary for the present application.

In the foregoing embodiments, the description of each embodiment has itsown focus. For the portion that is not detailed in one embodiment,reference may be made to the related description of other embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A robot control system, comprising: a storageregion, wherein the storage region comprises a loft having at least twostoreys and is configured to store a container, and a passage for aself-driven robot to move through is provided on a floor of each of theat least two storeys of the loft, each of the at least two storeys ofthe loft is provided with at least one self-driven robot and at leastone temporary storage mechanism, and the self-driven robot is capable oftraveling on a storey where the self-driven robot is located; a controldevice, wherein the control device is configured to assign atransportation task to the self-driven robot and plan a travel route onthe storey where the self-driven robot is located for the self-drivenrobot according to the transportation task, and control the self-drivenrobot to travel on the storey where the self-driven robot is locatedaccording to the travel route and perform the transportation task;wherein the transportation task comprises at least one of the following:a task that the self-driven robot picks up a target container at a firsttarget position of the storey where the self-driven robot is located,and transport the target container to the temporary storage mechanism;or, a task that the self-driven robot picks up the target container atthe temporary storage mechanism and transports the target container to asecond target position of the storey where the self-driven robot islocated; and a container lifting machine, wherein the container liftingmachine is configured to transport the target container to a targetstorey corresponding to a transportation task; wherein the temporarystorage mechanism is configured to bear the target container and performat least one of: conveying the target container to the container liftingmachine; or conveying the target container out of the container liftingmachine; wherein the control device is communicatively connected to thecontainer lifting machine, the temporary storage mechanism, and theself-driven robot.
 2. The robot control system of claim 1, wherein thetemporary storage mechanism is a roller line.
 3. The robot controlsystem of claim 1, wherein the temporary storage mechanism is an n-layerstructure, where n is a natural number and is greater than or equal to2; and the control device is further configured to control the containerlifting machine to transport the target container to an idle level inthe temporary storage mechanism.
 4. The robot control system of claim 1,wherein the at least one temporary storage mechanism is disposed on oneor both sides of the container lifting machine, and the containerlifting machine is disposed corresponding to the at least one temporarystorage mechanism.
 5. The robot control system of claim 1, wherein thetransportation task carries a code identifier of the target container,and the control device is configured to control the self-driven robot totravel on the storey where the self-driven robot is located to thelocation of the target container according to the travel route, andcontrol the self-driven robot to pick up the target container byrecognizing the code identifier of the target container.
 6. The robotcontrol system of claim 1, wherein the control device is furtherconfigured to receive a target container code recognized by theself-driven robot and evaluate a popularity of the target containerbased on a popularity and a quantity of items stored in the targetcontainer; and control the at least one self-driven robot to transport atarget container with a popularity exceeding a preset threshold to acontainer carrier in a preset region, and record a binding relationshipbetween the target container and the container carrier; or control theat least one self-driven robot to transport target containers tocontainer carriers by an increasing distance from an operating stationaccording to a descending order of the popularity of the targetcontainers, and record the binding relationship between the targetcontainers and the container carriers.
 7. The robot control system ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one self-driven robot comprises a pickuptelescopic mechanism, a lifting mechanism, and a robot moving chassis;wherein the pickup telescopic mechanism is configured to pick up atleast one target container; the lifting mechanism is configured toadjust the pickup telescopic mechanism to move upwards or downwards thusallowing the pickup telescopic mechanism picks up target containers oncontainer carriers at different heights on the target storey; and therobot moving chassis is configured to control travelling the at leastone self-driven robot on a travel passage of the target storey.
 8. Therobot control system of claim 1, wherein the passage configured for theat least one self-driven robot to move through is further configured foran emergency manual operation.
 9. The robot control system of claim 1,further comprising a robot lifting machine configured to dispatch theself-driven robot to a corresponding target storey according to controlinstructions of the control device when business volumes of differenttarget storeys change.
 10. The robot control system of claim 1, whereinthe lifting machine further comprises a transfer mechanism and acontainer temporary position, wherein the transfer mechanism isconfigured to perform at least one of: loading the target container fromthe temporary storage mechanism onto the container temporary position;or loading the target container located on the container temporaryposition onto the temporary storage mechanism.
 11. The robot controlsystem of claim 10, wherein the transfer mechanism comprises a rollermechanism or a robot arm configured to endow the container with degreesof freedom in four directions comprising front, rear, left, and right ina horizontal plane.
 12. The robot control system of claim 1, wherein thestorage region comprises at least one storage layer and one pickinglayer, and the picking layer is provided with an operating station,wherein the operating station is configured to perform a task operationon the target container.
 13. The robot control system of claim 12,wherein the control device is configured to control the self-drivenrobot to carry the target container to the operating station, and queueat the operating station to wait for the task operation; and the controldevice is further configured to, after the task operation is completed,control the self-driven robot to carry the target container with whichthe task operation has been completed, and transport the targetcontainer to a next operating station or return the target container toa container carrier.
 14. The robot control system of claim 12, whereinthe control device is further configured to control the self-drivenrobot to transport the target container to a storage position of theoperating station, and pick up at least one operable container otherthan the target container by controlling a pickup telescopic mechanismdisposed on the self-driven robot, after controlling the self-drivenrobot to travel to the operating station.
 15. A robot control method,applied to a robot control system, wherein the robot control systemcomprises a loft having at least two storeys, a passage for aself-driven robot to move through is provided on a floor of each of theat least two storeys of the loft, each of the at least two storeys ofthe loft is provided with at least one self-driven robot and at leastone temporary storage mechanism, and the self-driven robot is capable oftraveling on a storey where the self-driven robot is located, the methodcomprising: assigning a transportation task to a first self-drivenrobot; planning a travel route on the storey where the first self-drivenrobot is located corresponding to the transportation task for the firstself-driven robot, controlling the first self-driven robot to move to afirst target location on the storey where the first self-driven robot islocated according to the travel route, pick up a target container, andtransport the target container to the temporary storage mechanism;controlling the temporary storage mechanism to transport the targetcontainer to a container lifting machine; controlling the containerlifting machine to transport the target container to a target storeywhere a destination of the transportation task is located; controllingthe at least one temporary storage mechanism on a target storey wherethe destination of the transportation task is located to receive andtemporarily store the target container from the container liftingmachine; and controlling a second self-driven robot to transport thetarget container to the destination of the transportation task from theat least one temporary storage mechanism on a storey where the secondself-driven robot is located.
 16. A computing device, comprising amemory, a processor, and computer instructions stored in the memory andexecutable by the processor, wherein the computer instructions areconfigured to, when executed by the processor, be included for assigninga transportation task to a first self-driven robot; planning a travelroute on a storey where the first self-driven robot is locatedcorresponding to the transportation task for the first self-drivenrobot, controlling the first self-driven robot to move to a first targetlocation on the storey where the first self-driven robot is locatedaccording to the travel route, pick up the target container, andtransport the target container to a temporary storage mechanism;controlling the temporary storage mechanism to transport the targetcontainer to a container lifting machine; controlling the containerlifting machine to transport the target container to a target storeywhere a destination of the transportation task is located; controllingthe temporary storage mechanism on a target storey where the destinationof the transportation task is located to receive and temporarily storethe target container from the container lifting machine; and controllinga second self-driven robot to transport the target container to thedestination of the transportation task from the temporary storagemechanism on a storey where the second self-driven robot is located;wherein the first self-driven robot is capable of traveling on thestorey where the first self-driven robot is located, and the secondself-driven robot is capable of traveling on a storey where the secondself-driven robot is located.